Hey Everybody. Well it's April and since the snow is gone and we have every expectation (well hopeful anyway) that it will stay gone here in Wisconsin, I thought I would share a fun project that I did last year to add some bling to the back entrance to my little farmhouse. Makes it feel warmer to talk about outdoor projects about now. Since I like to do things not only as conservatively as possible, but also as creatively, I came up with this little "Twig Fence" but first off I would like to introduce you to my guy "Noah". He will no doubt be meandering in and out of my photos in my posts as he pretty much watches every move I make. He is really not big on changes, but oh well. Here he is questioning the change already.

So 1st I decided on the placement of the fence as I wanted it far enough back from the driveway so my snowplower wouldn't hit it and not too wide to start with so as to maintain it. I went with 4' wide and 20' total length. As you can see I would rather build a twig fence than mow the lawn on this particular day.

Next I went into the woods and cut 6 posts 5' long and in similar diameter. I like the rustic look with the wood on it and I realize that eventually the wood could fall off, but for now it looks cool. I dug the holes about a foot deep and mixed up some ready-crete to set them in. While I waited for them to set up, I hauled the sod away. The horizontal railings are a little smaller in diameter. I first tied them up on the posts to get a good visual placement and then drilled holes thru and attached them with long spikes.

Now for the fun part, the twigs. Actually I found those on a curbside where someone was having some landscaping done and had ripped out all of their bushes. I asked if I could have them and cheerfully loaded up the truck with my stash like they were gold. They are just nailed on the top and bottom of the railings and totally give it the look I wanted.

The 1st year plantings looked great and last fall I planted bulbs, so can't wait to see those emerge in the next couple of weeks. I love the hot pink wave petunias. They are easy to take care of, beautiful colors and spread like crazy! Wish they were perennials.

I added two tree trunk bases and a board for a little bench, and am always adding artsy accents to it. But all in all I like how it turned out. I didn't want to bore anyone with all of the tiny details, but you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out. Thanks and have an awesome Spring planning your creative gardens. The Cabin Gal

Well, here it goes, my journey into blogging. 1st post and I am staring at the cursor while it sits there...patiently waiting..... blink.blink.blink. As if as much to say, what will she write?I thought a good place to start, like all good stories, is at the beginning and tell you how the name "Cabingal" came to be. As long as I can remember, I have always wanted to live in a log cabin by a stream or a river. I teethed on Henry David Thoreau as a child, watched every western my dad had on, had a horse and was totally convinced I was indeed Annie Oakley reincarnated at some point and vividly remember my mom's exhaustion as she had to braid my hair every single day. I also knew in the very core of my soul that I was an artist. I felt it, was happy doing it and have never stopped. Exploring every media through the years has brought me to a love of making paper, stitching with fibers and combining the two into collage, book art, and repurposed creations. To compliment my needs for a place to make paper, have a small log cabin on my land and my constant internal search for a "physical project" I set forth to build this cabin.

Of course when one visualizes how this will go and the romantic version of how long it would take to build, the ease of that action and the actual summer it took to do so were entirely different things. There were learning curves, hot summer days, more very hot summer days, lots of bruises, well and some cursing if I am to be honest, but all in all a good rewarding project. Is it perfect? no. Weatherproof?Hardly. But it is mine and I love it.

Most of the logs came from my woods and I hand notched each one. Argh! Decided to buy the tresses by the time I got to the top. Added some repurposed sheet metal for the roof and a deck out front which looks over my little pond.

The mostly finished cabin....Now time to enjoy the fruits of my labor and make some paper!

So after all was said and done, my friends started to call me "The Cabin Gal" and it just sort of stuck, so here goes the beginning of my next creative adventure.Stay tuned... As Indiana Jones would say "It's not the years, but the miles"